Should I leave my gas fireplace pilot light on all summer or turn it off?
Either is fine — it's your call, and here's the tradeoff. Turning a standing pilot off for summer saves a small amount of gas and stops a little unwanted heat; leaving it on keeps the firebox dry, discourages spiders and dust in the burner, and means it's ready in fall. Most of our customers with a standing pilot shut it off for the warm months.
The case for shutting it off
A standing pilot is a small flame that burns day and night, so over a full Asheville summer it uses a modest but real amount of gas and radiates a touch of heat you don't want when it's 85 out. If your fireplace sits idle from May to October, turning the pilot off trims that waste. This only applies to older-style standing-pilot units — if yours has electronic ignition, there's nothing to turn off; it only lights when you call for a fire.
The case for leaving it on
There's an old installer's argument for keeping the pilot lit year-round, and it's not wrong: that small flame keeps the firebox warm and dry, which discourages the spiders and dust that love to nest in a cold burner over the off-season. The classic WNC failure we clear every fall is a pilot assembly packed with summer spider webs. A lit pilot also means no relighting in November, and the heat it adds is genuinely small.
What we usually tell people
If you're comfortable relighting the pilot — or having us do it at your annual service — shut it off and save the gas. If relighting intimidates you or your unit is tucked somewhere awkward, leave it lit; the cost is minor. Either way, book a tune-up in late summer or early fall, before you're depending on the fireplace, so we clear out any spider nests and check the pilot assembly regardless. Call (828) 545-0525 to schedule.
Related questions
- How much gas does a standing pilot light use?
- Does the pilot light give off enough heat to warm up the room in summer?
- Are there benefits to leaving the pilot lit year-round, like keeping moisture and spiders out?
- How do I shut the pilot light off for the summer?
- How do I turn on my gas fireplace?
- How do I light the pilot light on my gas fireplace?
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